West Ham up against Leeds & Euro giants in race to sign 21-year-old midfield maestro

West Ham United are alongside Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Atletico Madrid and Juventus in pursuing a potential transfer move for Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes.

The talented 21-year-old was one of the few bright sparks in a pretty dire Saints side that got relegated from the Premier League to the Championship last season.

Sources familiar with the situation have now informed CaughtOffside that Fernandes is likely to leave Southampton this summer, with a host of clubs showing an interest.

West Ham are understood to be particularly keen on Fernandes, with one source confirming to us that they “have the resources to meet Southampton’s £20m asking price”.

Mateus Fernandes transfer seems inevitable this summer

Fernandes is surely too good to be playing in the Championship, so it’s not surprising to see that he could soon be returning to the Premier League.

The classy Portugal Under-21 international looks like he could be an important addition to a West Ham side that needs a major rebuild after a disappointing season last term.

Newly-promoted Leeds could also do well to bring in Fernandes if possible, with Daniel Farke’s side likely facing a major battle to stay up this season.

Still, it seems Fernandes could even earn himself a slightly more glamorous move abroad as Juve and Atletico are also understood to be monitoring his situation.

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It’s worth emphasising that nothing is advanced with any club yet, but the feeling among sources close to Southampton is certainly that interest is there and that keeping hold of Fernandes seems very unlikely.

Southampton’s relegation is undoubtedly a huge blow, as it could also see them lose another big name in the form of highly-rated English wonderkid Tyler Dibling.

It won’t be easy to rebuild at the St Mary’s Stadium if both Fernandes and Dibling leave in the same window.